Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Islamic State

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that witness statements by potential genocide survivors in Iraq and Syria are given to the International Criminal Court and that the collection of forensic evidence and the protection of mass graves is prioritised.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: In Syria, the UK is supporting the work of non-governmental organisations who are gathering evidence of human rights violations. This is being done to the international standard required for criminal prosecution against high level perpetrators in a domestic or international court. In Iraq, we are considering how the UK might best complement similar efforts already underway with funds from other donor countries.Cases are being prepared for international prosecution should a referral to the International Criminal Court be forthcoming or should individuals be subject to litigation by hybrid, specialised or national courts. We are therefore doing everything we can to assist in the gathering and preservation of evidence that could in future be used by judicial bodies to make a judgement on this matter. It is vital that this is done now, before evidence is lost or destroyed.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Public Expenditure

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the budget apportioned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is sufficient for the development of the knowledge, understanding and policy sophistication required in respect of the Islamic world.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is devoting considerable resource to strengthening the organisation’s expertise and skills, including geographical, language and other relevant expertise, such as understanding the Islamic world. The opening of the FCO’s Diplomatic Academy last year has given new impetus and structure to this work. There is a growing range of formal and informal learning in London and throughout the FCO network, including better sharing of knowledge internally and increased access to external expertise. We put time and effort into understanding political trends globally including the “Islamic” element of political Islam. Our online Foundation Level course includes a basic religious literacy module. Our diplomatic missions report regularly on trends in political Islam and our research analyst cadre provide in-depth expertise, analysis and links to academics and think tanks. The FCO's Human Rights and Democracy Department run training courses on religion and foreign policy which serve as a practitioner level religion/foreign policy module for the Diplomatic Academy. We also offer training on contemporary Islam and its role within politics and society in various regional contexts.

Diplomatic Service: Arabic

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK Heads of Mission in Arabic-speaking countries speak Arabic.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: In the Middle East and North Africa region approximately 95 per cent of our Heads of Mission speak Arabic or other local languages (e.g. French or Hebrew).

Israel: Nuclear Weapons

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning its possession of nuclear weapons and the admission of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have regular discussions with the Government of Israel on a wide range of nuclear-related issues. Israel has not declared a nuclear weapons programme.Israel does have a facility-specific safeguards agreement in place with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The agreement applies to a single facility in Israel, which is the Soreq Nuclear Research Reactor. The facility is inspected by the IAEA to ensure that it is not used for weapons purposes. We continue to call on Israel to upgrade this arrangement to a full scope Comprehensive Safeguards agreement with the IAEA.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Overseas Trade: USA

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the value of (1) UK exports to the US, and (2) imports from the US to the UK, for the most recent years for which figures are available; and whether this trade was based on any trade agreement with the US.

Lord Price: In 2015 UK exports of goods and services to the US were £ 95.1 billion and UK imports from the US were £ 59.7 billion.There is no bilateral trade agreement with the US. Both the EU and US are members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). There are no estimates of the impact that their membership of the WTO and its trade agreements such as the Information Technology Agreement has had on UK-US trade.

Local Enterprise Partnerships: Finance

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there is a specific allocation within Local Growth Deal funding for Local Enterprise Partnerships for spending on transport.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Department for Transport is contributing over £7 billion of the £12 billion Local Growth Fund. This includes £475m reserved for major transport schemes too large for regular Growth Deal allocations. We expect that transport schemes will continue to feature strongly in Local Enterprise Partnerships’ proposals for further funding, though LEPs have flexibility in what they bring forward and how they use the funding.

The Lord Chairman of Committees

Hereditary Peers: By-elections

Lord Grocott: To ask the Chairman of Committees, in the light of the publication on 19 April of the result of the Hereditary Peers By-election, whether he will publish the contract with Electoral Reform Services to supervise and conduct the poll and count.

Lord Laming: The House has engaged Electoral Reform Services (ERS) to assist with each hereditary peers’ by-election. When the need for a by-election arises ERS are engaged under a standing agreement to administer and supervise the by-election and provide assurance that it conforms to good electoral practice.

Ministry of Defence

Veterans: Females

Earl Attlee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government approximately how many non-commissioned female members of the armed forces have retired from regular service with a trade that would normally require an HGV licence in the last 12-month period for which figures are available.

Earl Howe: This information is not held in the format requested.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) F35, and (2) F35B, aircraft are currently flying in the US; how many F35B aircraft owned by the UK are currently flying in the UK; and how many F35B aircraft in total (1) have been purchased by the UK to date, and (2) will have been purchased by the UK by 1 April 2017.

Earl Howe: The F-35 programme has delivered 179 aircraft to date, of which 53 are F-35B variants. There are currently no UK-owned F-35 aircraft flying in the UK.To date, the UK has ordered eight F-35B aircraft of which four have been delivered and are flying in the US. By April 2017 the UK is planning to have ordered 17 F-35B aircraft, of which nine are scheduled to have been delivered.

Merchant Shipping

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 19 April (HL7565), whether, in the event of chartering suitable merchant ships from the commercial market, those ships would be manned by British merchant seamen as was the case in the Falklands conflict in 1982.

Earl Howe: The requirement to charter 'shipping to be taken up from trade' can vary widely depending on the circumstances faced; it is therefore not possible to provide exact manning details until the specific requirements are known.

Department for Work and Pensions

Pension Protection Fund

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the financial strength of the Pension Protection Fund.

Baroness Altmann: The Pension Protection Fund is run by an independent Board and reviews its financial position regularly. It manages over £23 billion of assets and, in the 2014/15 Annual Report, the last published, declared a funding ratio of 115.1 per cent and a surplus of £3.6 billion.

Pension Protection Fund

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered the risk to the solvency of the Pension Protection Fund of owners of companies with funding deficits selling the business for a nominal consideration or to an unsuitable purchaser.

Baroness Altmann: The independent Pensions Regulator, which oversees worked based pensions, has a statutory objective to reduce the risk of situations arising which may lead to compensation being payable from the Pension Protection Fund. It was given a significant range of anti-avoidance powers in the Pensions Act 2004, which can be deployed where it is appropriate and where the legal tests laid down in legislation are met.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Flags

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government by what published authority the Union Flag was established as the national flag of the UK and declared as such; when this was done; where the national flag's constitutional status is laid down; and what assessment they have made of whether that constitutes an appropriate formal and constitutional declaration of that flag's status.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The first Union Flag was created in 1606 after the Union of the Crown of England and Wales with the Crown of Scotland, by combining the Cross of St George with the Cross of St Andrew. It was established by Royal Proclamation, and adopted primarily as a flag to be used at sea. The Union Flag in the form we now know dates from 1801 following the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland. The Union with Ireland Act provided that the flag “of the Union” should be such as His Majesty should appoint by proclamation. A Royal Proclamation of George III dated 1 January 1801 declared the design of the flag to be as it currently is.

Flags

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the correct proportions of the Union Flag are, and where they are laid down.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The correct proportions of the Union Flag on land are 5 : 3. The proportions were established by Garter Principle King of Arms in 1938 as the principle adviser to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom with respect to national symbols, ceremonial and heraldry. The present Garter continues to inform and advise government and the Crown on such matters.

Home Office

Terrorism: Victim Support Schemes

Baroness Jowell: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what dedicated and expert resources they have in each department to support bereaved families and survivors in the event of a terrorist attack.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government, law enforcement, and the security and intelligence agencies work tirelessly to prevent terrorist attacks wherever possible. Resources are in place for the provision of general and specialist support for those affected by terrorist attacks either in the UK or abroad, including bereaved families and survivors.A range of medical, psychological, liaison, and compensation support arrangements can be provided suited to the specific circumstances.Our approach is set out below.Support for victims of terrorism overseasThe Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides support during any crisis overseas, including a terrorist attack, ensuring that the government responds effectively to deliver rapid and professional assistance to British nationals affected. The crisis centre in London can bring together teams of more than a hundred people from across government to coordinate a response and can call on trained staff to both bolster the team in London and be deployed to the country affected. This includes consular support to survivors and to families of victims, working with police family liaison officers and overseas authorities to provide support, assistance and information.Immediately after the 2015 terrorist attack in Sousse, the Prime Minister established an ad hoc Ministerial Committee to coordinate support from across government to all British Nationals that were affected. The Committee has oversight of arrangements for the memorial service (which took place on 12 April), a physical memorial, compensation and a programme to provide support for those experiencing mental health difficulties.Support for victims of terrorism in the United KingdomIn the event that an attack were to take place in the UK, bereaved families and survivors are entitled to support and services under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime; this is published by the Ministry of Justice and can be accessed online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/476900/code-of-practice-for-victims-of-crime.PDF. This includes access to medical support and any specialist support such as psychological support. Families and victims are able to access these directly without a referral.The Victim Information Service provides advice for victims of terrorism. This can be accessed online at www.victimsinformationservice.org.uk/im-victim-terrorist-attack/ or by phone on 0808 168 9293.Government funding is also provided for the national Homicide Service and a number of smaller organisations to support those living in England and Wales bereaved by murder or manslaughter, whether committed here or abroad which includes those bereaved by terrorism.CompensationThe Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority administers both the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and Victim of Overseas Terrorism Compensation Scheme, which provide compensation to victims of terrorist attacks in the UK and of designated terrorist attacks overseas.Northern Ireland-related terrorismResponsibility for dealing with Northern Ireland-related terrorism rests with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and, for that reason, this answer does not cover Northern Ireland-related terrorist attacks in Northern Ireland. The response does however, cover any Northern Ireland-related terrorism in Great Britain.



Codes of Practice - victims of crime
(PDF Document, 754.77 KB)

Undocumented Migrants

Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many illegal entrants were detected (1) on arrival at a UK ferry port, and (2) subsequent to having entered in a vehicle that had arrived at a UK ferry port, in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Our records currently indicate that the number of clandestine entrants detected at UK ferry ports was:2013 7562014 1,4802015 1,305As part of recent changes to the way data is recorded, management information from April 2011 has been refreshed and may differ from the data released in earlier responses.Previous figures provided for PQ 21106 showed that, at that time, our records indicated that 678 detections had been made at seaports in 2013. Under the new improved recording and reporting system, this figure has been updated to 756.Clandestine entrants detected in-country with a declared port of departure that is a ferry port:2013 6762014 1,3432015 1,630This is provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics. Because the source of this data is a live operational system, operational reports taking data from the system at different times will continue to reflect slightly different numbers.As part of recent changes to the way data is recorded, management information from April 2011 has been refreshed and may differ from the data released in earlier responses.Immigration controls operate at Calais, and as such detections at Dover are normally counted as in country. For the purposes of this question, detections at Dover are counted as "at a UK ferry port".For part (2), data on the ferry port of departure has been used as a proxy for port of arrival, as the latter is not recorded.Regarding part (2), it must be noted that data for port of departure is incomplete: over the three year period there are more than 15,000 clandestines detected in country with no port of departure recorded. The data for part (2) excludes clandestine entrants whose declared port of departure is Coquelles, as this is a rail port.

British Nationals Abroad: EU Countries

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what would be the residency status of UK expatriates currently living permanently in EU member states in the event that the UK votes to leave the EU.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As set out in the Government’s White Paper: ‘The process for withdrawing from the European Union’, published on 29 February, the withdrawal process is unprecedented. No country has ever used Article 50 and this will be an area of discussion with EU member states in such a scenario.

HM Treasury

Inheritance Tax

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether children of a first marriage are disadvantaged compared with the children of subsequent marriages under current inheritance tax rules.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Inheritance tax is generally levied on estates rather than on beneficiaries. Although any legacies to a spouse or civil partner will be exempt, the relationship between the deceased and the beneficiaries usually has no effect on the inheritance tax liability of an estate under the current rules. The children of first marriages and of subsequent marriages, and indeed other beneficiaries of the deceased, will generally be treated in the same way. The Government considered whether children of a first marriage would be disadvantaged compared with children of subsequent marriages when developing legislation for the new residence allowance. This is being phased in from April 2017 for individuals who leave their home to their children, grandchildren or other direct descendants. The definition of direct descendants includes a person who was at any time a step-child of the deceased so it would apply equally to children of first and any subsequent marriages.

Taxation: British Nationals Abroad

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the event of the UK leaving the EU, how they intend to change the status of domicile, if at all, in relation to UK citizens living in EU member states.

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the event of the UK leaving the EU, UK citizens living in EU member states would continue to be treated as all other UK citizens in the event of their death, in particular regarding their domicile status and death duties on their estates.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Domicile in the UK is an English common law concept which is distinct from citizenship and nationality. It is not dependent on EU law nor on the UK’s membership of the EU.

Department of Health

Junior Doctors: Conditions of Employment

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes they propose to make in the new contract for doctors in training in the light of the equality analysis undertaken under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what mitigating actions they propose to take with regards to the new contract for doctors in training in the light of the equality analysis undertaken under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 showing that certain features of that contract will have an adverse impact on those who work part-time, who are predominantly women.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what mitigating actions they propose to take in the light of the equality analysis undertaken under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 showing that certain features of the new contract for doctors in training will have an adverse impact on women who take maternity leave.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what mitigating actions they propose to take in the light of the equality analysis undertaken under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 showing that certain features of the new contract for doctors in training will have an adverse impact on carers, who are disproportionately women.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they accept the recommendation of the report of the equality analysis undertaken under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 that a number of steps be taken to amend the draft new contract for doctors in training to address the position of part-time doctors in order to advance equality of opportunity between men and women doctors.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The contract published on 31 March is a huge step forward for achieving fairness for all trainee doctors. For the first time junior doctors will be paid and rewarded solely on the basis of their own hard work and achievement and pay progression will be linked to level of training rather than arbitrarily to time served. All junior doctors should have the same terms and conditions – a level playing field – which is ultimately what employers and the British Medical Association (BMA) want and everyone deserves. When the Secretary of State published the Equality Analysis on the new contract for doctors and dentists in training in the NHS (“Doctors”) on the 31 March 2016 on the GOV.UK website he made it clear that, as a result of considering the Equality Analysis, in accordance with his duties and obligations, he had asked for a number of changes to the draft contract to address specific issues for certain groups with protected characteristics. This has been done and the contract has been duly amended. These changes included changes that benefited staff who work part time. The new contract is not discriminatory it ensures that all junior doctors receive equal pay for work of equal value. The BMA’s own lawyers have advised that nothing in the new contract is discriminatory. Nevertheless the equality duty is an ongoing duty and it is intended that monitoring will continue after the introduction of the new contract in accordance with the public sector equality duty in the Equality Act 2010. A copy of the Equality Analysis is attached. 



Junior Doctors EIA
(PDF Document, 773.77 KB)

Sugar: Taxation

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what date they were informed that NHS England was considering implementing a sugar tax in NHS premises by 2020.

Lord Prior of Brampton: We have a range of conversations about key issues at Ministerial and official level with NHS England. NHS England is independent and the decision on a sugar levy on the National Health Service estate is a matter for them operationally. We are interested to see the results of their consultation on a sugar levy.

Incontinence: Medical Equipment

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the recent tender awarded by the Nottinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Groups of an appointed provider to operate a Stoma Prescription service is consistent with (1) Part 1X of the Drug Tariff national framework for the dispensing and supply of stoma and urology; (2) Part 7 of the National Health Service Act 2006, as amended; and (3) the NHS England guidance issued in November 2015.

Lord Prior of Brampton: No such assessment has been made by the Department. This is a matter for NHS England. NHS England advises that clinical commissioning groups in Nottinghamshire are satisfied that they have met all the requirements of the tendering process in relation to the procurement process in awarding the contract to provide a stoma prescribing management service for the people of Nottinghamshire.

Junior Doctors: Conditions of Employment

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what basis the equality analysis undertaken under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, which showed that certain features of the new contract for doctors in training will disproportionately impact on women, would not amount to indirect discrimination as those impacts can be comfortably justified.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Equality Assessment refers to a number of important objectives the new contract pursues and explains how it delivers fairness for all junior doctors. The Government considers that the new contract is entirely consistent with the Equality Act 2010.

Hospitals: Private Finance Initiative

Baroness Redfern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of private finance initiatives on NHS hospitals' budgets in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Lord Prior of Brampton: It is the role of NHS Improvement (and NHS Trust Development Agency and Monitor before it) to assess the impact of different expenditure items at National Health Service trusts to ensure that NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts have arrangements in place to secure financial health. Where individual providers find themselves in financial distress, identifying the root cause of issues is often complex. In some cases the situation may be attributable to the long-term fixed costs of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes, whilst in others the principal causes may lay elsewhere (although it is possible the PFI may exacerbate the issue). However NHS Improvement’s focus is then on supporting that individual provider to fix its financial problems, for example through interim financial support or longer term solutions in that health economy. Information on the reporting of PFI payments in terms of trust’s total income and expenditure and other statutory reporting requirements is contained within individual trust accounts.